2008 New Mexico Senate election

Not to be confused with 2008 United States Senate election in New Mexico.

2008 New Mexico Senate election

November 4, 2008
All 42 seats in the New Mexico Senate 22 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Timothy Jennings Stuart Ingle Party Democratic Republican Leader's seat 32nd - Roswell 27th - Portales Last election 24 18 Seats before 24 18 Seats won 27 15 Seat change 3 3 Popular vote 402,496 266,663 Percentage 60.15% 39.85%
Results:      Democratic gain      Democratic hold      Republican hold
President pro tempore before election Timothy Jennings Democratic Elected President pro tempore Timothy Jennings Democratic

The 2008 New Mexico Senate election took place as part of the biennial United States elections. New Mexico voters elected state senators in all 42 of the state senate's districts. State senators serve four-year terms in the New Mexico Senate. The election coincided with elections for other offices, including for U.S. President, U.S. Senate, U.S House, and state house.

A primary election on June 3, 2008, determined which candidates appeared on the November 4th general election ballot.

Results summary

District	Incumbent	Party		Elected senator	Party
1	William Sharer		Rep	William Sharer		Rep
2	Steven Neville		Rep	Steven Neville		Rep
3	John Pinto		Dem	John Pinto		Dem
4	Lidio Rainaldi		Dem	George Muñoz		Dem
5	Richard Martinez		Dem	Richard Martinez		Dem
6	Carlos Cisneros		Dem	Carlos Cisneros		Dem
7	Clinton Harden		Rep	Clinton Harden		Rep
8	Pete Campos		Dem	Pete Campos		Dem
9	Steve Komadina		Rep	John Sapien		Dem
10	John Ryan		Rep	John Ryan		Rep
11	Linda Lopez		Dem	Linda Lopez		Dem
12	Jerry Ortiz y Pino		Dem	Jerry Ortiz y Pino		Dem
13	Dede Feldman		Dem	Dede Feldman		Dem
14	James Taylor		Dem	Eric Griego		Dem
15	Diane Snyder		Rep	Tim Eichenberg		Dem
16	Cisco McSorley		Dem	Cisco McSorley		Dem
17	Shannon Robinson		Dem	Tim Keller		Dem
18	Mark Boitano		Rep	Mark Boitano		Rep
19	Sue Wilson Beffort		Rep	Sue Wilson Beffort		Rep
20	William Payne		Rep	William Payne		Rep
21	Kent Cravens		Rep	Kent Cravens		Rep
22	Lynda Lovejoy		Dem	Lynda Lovejoy		Dem
23	Joseph Carraro		Rep	Sander Rue		Rep
24	Nancy Rodriguez		Dem	Nancy Rodriguez		Dem
25	John Grubesic		Dem	Peter Wirth		Dem
26	Bernadette Sanchez		Dem	Bernadette Sanchez		Dem
27	Stuart Ingle		Rep	Stuart Ingle		Rep
28	Howie Morales		Dem	Howie Morales		Dem
29	Michael Sanchez		Dem	Michael Sanchez		Dem
30	David Ulibarri		Dem	David Ulibarri		Dem
31	Cynthia Nava		Dem	Cynthia Nava		Dem
32	Timothy Jennings		Dem	Timothy Jennings		Dem
33	Rod Adair		Rep	Rod Adair		Rep
34	Vernon Asbill		Rep	Vernon Asbill		Rep
35	John Arthur Smith		Dem	John Arthur Smith		Dem
36	Mary Jane Garcia		Dem	Mary Jane Garcia		Dem
37	Leonard Lee Rawson		Rep	Stephen Fischmann		Dem
38	Mary Kay Papen		Dem	Mary Kay Papen		Dem
39	Phil Griego		Dem	Phil Griego		Dem
40	Dianna Duran		Rep	Dianna Duran		Rep
41	Carroll Leavell		Rep	Carroll Leavell		Rep
42	Gay Kernan		Rep	Gay Kernan		Rep

Party		Candi- dates	Votes		Seats
			No.	%	No.	+/–	%
	Democratic	31	402,496	60.15%	25	3	64.29%
	Republican	23	266,663	39.85%	17	3	35.71%
Total		54	669,159	100%	42		100%

Popular vote Democratic   60.15% Republican   39.85%

Senate seats Democratic   64.29% Republican   35.71%

Retiring incumbents

• Lidio Rainaldi (D-District 4)
• Joseph Carraro (R-District 23), to run for Congress
• John Grubesic (D-District 25)

Incumbents defeated in the primary election

• James Taylor (D-District 14), defeated by Eric Griego (D)
• Shannon Robinson (D-District 17), defeated by Tim Keller (D)

Incumbents defeated in the general election

• Steve Komadina (R-District 9), defeated by John Sapien (D)
• Diane Snyder (R-District 15), defeated by Tim Eichenberg (D)
• Leonard Lee Rawson (R-District 37), defeated by Stephen Fischmann (D)

Detailed results

Source for primary election results: Source for general election results:

District 1

Incumbent Republican William Sharer has represented the 1st district since 2001.

New Mexico Senate 1st district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William Sharer (incumbent)	14,032	100%
Total votes			14,032	100%
	Republican hold

District 2

Incumbent Republican Steven Neville has represented the 2nd district since 2005.

New Mexico Senate 2nd district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steven Neville (incumbent)	14,223	100%
Total votes			14,223	100%
	Republican hold

District 3

Incumbent Democrat John Pinto has represented the 3rd district since 1977. Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 3rd district Democratic primary election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Pinto (incumbent)	2,869	78.52%
	Democratic	Willis Nez	785	21.48%
Total votes			3,654	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 3rd district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Pinto (incumbent)	12,121	100%
Total votes			12,121	100%
	Democratic hold

District 4

Incumbent Democrat Lidio Rainaldi has represented the 4th district since 2001. Rainaldi didn't seek re-election and fellow Democrat George Muñoz won the open seat. Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 4th district Democratic primary election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	George Muñoz	1,933	43.19%
	Democratic	Virginia Ballenger	1,547	34.56%
	Democratic	Laverne Wyaco	687	15.35%
	Democratic	Edward Smith	309	6.90%
Total votes			4,476	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 4th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	George Muñoz	10,897	75.61%
	Republican	Beatrice Woodward	3,515	24.39%
Total votes			14,412	100%
	Democratic hold

District 5

Incumbent Democrat Richard Martinez has represented the 5th district since 2001.

New Mexico Senate 5th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard Martinez (incumbent)	14,975	100%
Total votes			14,975	100%
	Democratic hold

District 6

Incumbent Democrat Carlos Cisneros has represented the 6th district since 1985. Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 6th district Democratic primary election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Carlos Cisneros (incumbent)	3,855	52.48%
	Democratic	Erminio Martinez	2,648	36.05%
	Democratic	Archie Velarde	843	11.48%
Total votes			7,346	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 6th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Carlos Cisneros (incumbent)	18,037	100%
Total votes			18,037	100%
	Democratic hold

District 7

Incumbent Republican Clinton Harden has represented the 7th district since 2003.

New Mexico Senate 7th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Clinton Harden (incumbent)	10,891	59.07%
	Democratic	Thomas Jeffrey Carr	7,547	40.93%
Total votes			18,438	100%
	Republican hold

District 8

Incumbent Democrat Pete Campos has represented the 8th district since 1991.

New Mexico Senate 8th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Pete Campos (incumbent)	13,254	100%
Total votes			13,254	100%
	Democratic hold

District 9

Incumbent Republican Steve Komadina has represented the 9th district since 2001. Komadina lost re-election to Democrat John Sapien. Republican primary

New Mexico Senate 9th district Republican primary election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve Komadina (incumbent)	2,085	71.75%
	Republican	J. Barry Bitzer	821	28.25%
Total votes			2,906	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 9th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Sapien	11,981	50.25%
	Republican	Steve Komadina (incumbent)	11,860	49.75%
Total votes			23,841	100%
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 10

Incumbent Republican John Ryan has represented the 10th district since 2005. Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 10th district Democratic primary election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Victor Paul Raigoza	1,991	51.78%
	Democratic	Joel Davis	1,854	48.22%
Total votes			3,845	100%

Republican primary

New Mexico Senate 10th district Republican primary election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Ryan (incumbent)	2,672	65.09%
	Republican	Robert Kevin Sikes	1,433	34.91%
Total votes			4,105	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 10th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Ryan (incumbent)	13,776	51.22%
	Democratic	Victor Paul Raigoza	13,120	48.78%
Total votes			26,896	100%
	Republican hold

District 11

Incumbent Democrat Linda Lopez has represented the 11th district since 1997. Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 10th district Democratic primary election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Linda Lopez (incumbent)	1,886	53.25%
	Democratic	Michael Padilla	1,656	46.75%
Total votes			3,542	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 11th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Linda Lopez (incumbent)	14,253	100%
Total votes			14,253	100%
	Democratic hold

District 12

Incumbent Democrat Jerry Ortiz y Pino has represented the 12th district since 2005.

New Mexico Senate 12th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jerry Ortiz y Pino (incumbent)	12,828	100%
Total votes			12,828	100%
	Democratic hold

District 13

Incumbent Democrat Dede Feldman has represented the 13th district since 1997. Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 13th district Democratic primary election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dede Feldman (incumbent)	4,282	79.08%
	Democratic	Carlos Cordova	1,133	20.92%
Total votes			5,415	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 13th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dede Feldman (incumbent)	17,412	100%
Total votes			17,412	100%
	Democratic hold

District 14

Incumbent Democrat James Taylor has represented the 14th district since 2005. Taylor lost re-nomination to fellow Democrat Eric Griego, who was unopposed in the general election. Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 14th district Democratic primary election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Eric Griego	2,111	62.36%
	Democratic	James Taylor (incumbent)	1,274	37.64%
Total votes			3,385	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 14th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Eric Griego	10,807	100%
Total votes			10,807	100%
	Democratic hold

District 15

Incumbent Republican Diane Snyder has represented the 15th district since 2001. Snyder lost re-election to Democrat Tim Eichenberg. Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 15th district Democratic primary election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tim Eichenberg	2,413	59.36%
	Democratic	John Blair	1,652	40.64%
Total votes			4,065	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 15th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tim Eichenberg	12,643	56.52%
	Republican	Diane Snyder (incumbent)	9,728	43.48%
Total votes			22,371	100%
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 16

Incumbent Democrat Cisco McSorley has represented the 16th district since 1997.

New Mexico Senate 16th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Cisco McSorley (incumbent)	16,369	100%
Total votes			16,369	100%
	Democratic hold

District 17

Incumbent Democrat Shannon Robinson has represented the 17th district since 1989. Robinson lost re-nomination to fellow Democrat Tim Keller, who was unopposed in the general election. Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 17th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tim Keller	1,614	65.99%
	Democratic	Shannon Robinson (incumbent)	832	34.01%
Total votes			2,446	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 17th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tim Keller	9,275	100%
Total votes			9,275	100%
	Democratic hold

District 18

Incumbent Republican Mark Boitano has represented the 18th district since 1997.

New Mexico Senate 18th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark Boitano (incumbent)	13,980	100%
Total votes			13,980	100%
	Republican hold

District 19

Incumbent Republican Sue Wilson Beffort has represented the 19th district since 1997.

New Mexico Senate 19th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Sue Wilson Beffort (incumbent)	14,266	60.39%
	Democratic	Jason Michael Burnette	9,357	39.61%
Total votes			23,623	100%
	Republican hold

District 20

Incumbent Republican William Payne has represented the 20th district since 1997.

New Mexico Senate 20th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	William Payne (incumbent)	14,068	100%
Total votes			14,068	100%
	Republican hold

District 21

Incumbent Republican Kent Cravens has represented the 21st district since 2001.

New Mexico Senate 21st district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kent Cravens (incumbent)	15,638	56.96%
	Democratic	Jessica Lynn Wolfe	11,818	43.04%
Total votes			27,456	100%
	Republican hold

District 22

Incumbent Democrat Lynda Lovejoy has represented the 22nd district since her appointment in 2007 following the resignation of Leonard Tsosie. Lovejoy was elected to a full term. Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 22nd district Democratic primary election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lynda Lovejoy (incumbent)	1,883	36.52%
	Democratic	Everett Chavez	1,484	28.78%
	Democratic	Joshua Madalena	1,173	22.75%
	Democratic	Billy Moore	616	11.95%
Total votes			5,156	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 22nd district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lynda Lovejoy (incumbent)	16,908	100%
Total votes			16,908	100%
	Democratic hold

District 23

Incumbent Republican Joseph Carraro has represented the 23rd district since 1993. Carraro retired to run for Congress and fellow Republican Sander Rue won the open seat. Republican primary

New Mexico Senate 23rd district Republican primary election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Sander Rue	2,218	53.73%
	Republican	David Trenton Pyne	1,910	46.27%
Total votes			4,128	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 23rd district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Sander Rue	22,338	100%
Total votes			22,338	100%
	Republican hold

District 24

Incumbent Democrat Nancy Rodriguez has represented the 24th district since 1997.

New Mexico Senate 24th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Nancy Rodriguez (incumbent)	15,852	100%
Total votes			15,852	100%
	Democratic hold

District 25

Incumbent Democratic John Grubesic has represented the 25th district since 2005. Grubesic didn't seek re-election and Democratic State Representative Peter Wirth won the open seat.

New Mexico Senate 25th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Peter Wirth	24,902	100%
Total votes			24,902	100%
	Democratic hold

District 26

Incumbent Democrat Bernadette Sanchez has represented the 26th district since 2001.

New Mexico Senate 26th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bernadette Sanchez (incumbent)	13,750	75.68%
	Republican	Spiro Gregory Vassilopoulos	4,419	24.32%
Total votes			18,169	100%
	Democratic hold

District 27

Incumbent Republican Minority Leader Stuart Ingle has represented the 27th district since 1985.

New Mexico Senate 27th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Stuart Ingle (incumbent)	9,466	100%
Total votes			9,466	100%
	Republican hold

District 28

Incumbent Democrat Howie Morales has represented the 28th district since his appointment in 2008 following the death of Ben Altamirano. Morales was elected to a full term. Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 28th district Democratic primary election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Howie Morales (incumbent)	4,912	88.00%
	Democratic	Christopher Aquino	670	12.00%
Total votes			5,582	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 28th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Howie Morales (incumbent)	13,546	66.61%
	Republican	Joseph Gros	6,790	33.39%
Total votes			20,336	100%
	Democratic hold

District 29

Incumbent Democrat Michael Sanchez has represented the 29th district since 1993.

New Mexico Senate 29th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michael Sanchez (incumbent)	14,633	100%
Total votes			14,633	100%
	Democratic hold

District 30

Incumbent Democrat David Ulibarri has represented the 30th district since his appointment in 2006 following the resignation of Joseph Fidel. Ulibarri was elected to a full term. Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 30th district Democratic primary election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	David Ulibarri (incumbent)	1,662	36.19%
	Democratic	Clemente Sanchez	1,654	36.02%
	Democratic	June Lorenzo	1,276	27.79%
Total votes			4,592	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 30th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	David Ulibarri (incumbent)	8,262	52.59%
	Republican	Jose Silva	7,447	47.41%
Total votes			15,709	100%
	Democratic hold

District 31

Incumbent Democrat Cynthia Nava has represented the 31st district since 1993.

New Mexico Senate 31st district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Cynthia Nava (incumbent)	7,550	100%
Total votes			7,550	100%
	Democratic hold

District 32

Incumbent Democrat and President pro tempore Timothy Jennings has represented the 32nd district since 1979.

New Mexico Senate 32nd district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Timothy Jennings (incumbent)	8,721	100%
Total votes			8,721	100%
	Democratic hold

District 33

Incumbent Republican Rod Adair has represented the 33rd district since 1997. Republican primary

New Mexico Senate New Mexico Senate 33rd district Republican primary election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Rod Adair (incumbent)	3,335	53.47%
	Republican	Rory McMinn	2,902	46.53%
Total votes			6,237	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate New Mexico Senate 33rd district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Rod Adair (incumbent)	14,274	100%
Total votes			14,274	100%
	Republican hold

District 34

Incumbent Republican Vernon Asbill has represented the 34th district since 2005.

New Mexico Senate 34th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Vernon Asbill (incumbent)	14,122	100%
Total votes			14,122	100%
	Republican hold

District 35

Incumbent Democrat John Arthur Smith has represented the 35th district since 1989.

New Mexico Senate 35th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Arthur Smith (incumbent)	10,636	100%
Total votes			10,636	100%
	Democratic hold

District 36

Incumbent Democrat Mary Jane Garcia has represented the 36th district since 1989. Democratic primary

New Mexico Senate 36th district Democratic primary election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mary Jane Garcia (incumbent)	1,960	67.75%
	Democratic	Oscar Vasquez Butler	933	32.25%
Total votes			2,893	100%

General election

New Mexico Senate 36th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mary Jane Garcia (incumbent)	9,411	54.88%
	Republican	Lee Cotter	7,736	45.12%
Total votes			17,147	100%
	Democratic hold

District 37

Incumbent Republican Leonard Lee Rawson has represented the 37th district since 1993. Rawson lost re-election to Democrat Stephen Fischmann.

New Mexico Senate 37th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Stephen Fischmann	13,229	51.13%
	Republican	Leonard Lee Rawson (incumbent)	12,643	48.87%
Total votes			25,872	100%
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 38

Incumbent Democrat Mary Kay Papen has represented the 38th district since 2001.

New Mexico Senate 38th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mary Kay Papen (incumbent)	12,157	100%
Total votes			12,157	100%
	Democratic hold

District 39

Incumbent Democrat Phil Griego has represented the 39th district since 1997.

New Mexico Senate 39th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Phil Griego (incumbent)	16,245	100%
Total votes			16,245	100%
	Democratic hold

District 40

Incumbent Republican Dianna Duran has represented the 40th district since 1993.

New Mexico Senate 40th district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dianna Duran (incumbent)	10,230	100%
Total votes			10,230	100%
	Republican hold

District 41

Incumbent Republican Carroll Leavell has represented the 41st district since 1997.

New Mexico Senate 41st district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Carroll Leavell (incumbent)	8,702	100%
Total votes			8,702	100%
	Republican hold

District 42

Incumbent Republican Gay Kernan has represented the th district since 2002.

New Mexico Senate 42nd district general election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Gay Kernan (incumbent)	12,519	100%
Total votes			12,519	100%
	Republican hold

See also

• 2008 United States elections
• 2008 United States presidential election in New Mexico
• 2008 United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico
• 2008 New Mexico House of Representatives election